Winter harsh on Ohio's pheasant numbers

Apr. 7, 2014

Ring-necked pheasants had a tough winter in Ohio. / Getty Images

Written by

Dick Martin

CentralOhio.com

Ohio’s pheasants have been scarce for a number of years. Still, at least small populations have hung on in spots where there was plenty of food and cover.

But this winter was a bad one, and according to Pheasants Forever, Ohio’s birds took a hit. The severe weather, which featured long durations of snow cover and extreme cold, took its toll on our feathered friends.

Wiley notes there is a habitat bright spot: More than 10,000 acres in the Ohio Pheasant State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement program will be available as part of the Conservation Reserve Program this year within the primary pheasant range in the state.

With birds so scarce in Ohio, many hunters seek ringnecks elsewhere. What can they expect this fall?

In the rich farmlands of South Dakota, the land received only about 50 percent of its normal snowfall over the winter, which is good news for the nation’s largest pheasant population.

According to Travis Runio, wildlife biologist there, “The winter has not been stressful to pheasants this year and we expect that survival was higher than normal.”

North Dakota had much the same conditions as its neighbor, and also reported good survival so far. Nebraska? It was a cold winter, but Dr. Jeffrey Lusk, Upland Game Program Manager reported, “I don’t expect a huge impact on pheasants, but it was very cold for long periods of time.”

The population there is poised to bounce back, providing there is adequate moisture this spring to promote lush nesting habitat.

• Did you know hummingbirds are among the smallest birds, ranging from 3 to 5 inches on average with their brains making up 4.2 percent of their body weight? This is the largest proportion in the bird kingdom.

Hummingbirds have little or no sense of smell, can see and hear farther than humans, and can remember every flower they have been to. The feet of a hummingbird are so weak they can barely walk, preferring to fly, using wings that rotate in a full circle.

Most hummingbirds die in the first year of life. If they live past this first year, they can live for more than 10 years.

• The spring season has arrived, and so too has the season for Ohio residents to enjoy spotting young and sometimes seemingly abandoned wildlife.

Each year the DOW offers simple advice “Please leave wildlife alone and enjoy wildlife from a distance!”

A wild animal is capable of biting, scratching and transmitting disease and parasites to humans and pets. More often than not, baby animals are not abandoned and the parents will retrieve their young, especially when left alone by humans.

• After considering public input and reviewing data, modifications were made to the 2014-15 hunting regulations proposals that the Ohio Wildlife Council will vote on at its next meeting.

The amended proposal states shotgun and pistol cartridges rifles used for deer hunting be loaded with no more than three shells in the magazine and chamber combined. The current regulation states a shotgun must be plugged if it is capable of holding more than three shells.

Deer bag limit adjustments were proposed in five counties, and the antlerless permit was proposed to be removed from Knox, Hardin and Lawrence counties.

• If you own a boat, you may have heard that a government mandate has been increasing the amount of ethanol in the nation’s fuel supply. According to the Boat Owners Association of the United States, that edict damages boat engines and fuel systems, and presents some safety concerns.

BoatUS, along with a coalition of other groups, is now fighting to repeal the increased use of ethanol legislation. That’s because the standard no longer reflects America’s fuel usage, which has been on a decline and is opposite to the legislation’s assumptions made nearly a decade ago.

Dick Martin is a retired Shelby biology teacher who has written an outdoor column for more than 20 years. He can be reached at richmart@neo.rr.com.